


When He Whispers

by orphan_account



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Horses, Overworking, Reunions, Septiplier - Freeform, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-06 02:41:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5399840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You just knew the mare was special, but can you really expect to break her without help from the whisperer who left without a word? She has a gift, but can it pay off your debt? You have to find him. He's the only one you know who can truly tame this mysterious mare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU in which you work in the stables on a ranch that Arin owns.

She wondered onto the ranch in the dark of night, but her pure white mane seemed to dimly illuminate the air around her. Every animal on the property seemed to wake as soon as her hoof connected with the ground. You too found yourself being pulled from your own dreams as she came closer. Apparently the owner of the ranch took notice as well, for you saw the lights of their home blink on and one figure, followed by another, move to the window. 

Brushing hay off yourself, you carefully climbed down from your cot tucked away in the mow. You knew the owner was going to want this mare, and with the whisperer gone, you would have to take charge. Still in just an undershirt and boxer shorts, you grabbed a length of rope off of the wall of the barn. You didn't want to act before you were ordered to, but the white mare was nearly at the edge of the property. You decided to sneak up to the horse. You were entirely inexperienced, but you'd watched others do it a thousand times. You started talking softly. 

"Don't worry, girl. I won't harm 'ya." The mare turned, but didn't look directly at you. You got close enough to pet her, but let her smell you first. She was small, but still dangerous. You were more worried she'd run off, though. "Pretty girl. You're alright. You're okay." You unraveled a bit of the rope from your arm. She grew uneasy, so you lowered the rope and pet her mane. The door to the house creaked loudly and she stamped her hooves. When you tried to pet her again, she only grew more uneasy. If you were going to capture this horse, you had to do it now. 

By some miracle you got the rope around her head. She bucked and whinnied, but you held your ground. Some may have said you were brave or at the very least determined, but really you were putting yourself in needless danger. You were no whisperer, but you knew you had made the wrong decision by not waiting for her to calm down. The thought of loosing this mare as your boss watched drove you to make a deadly decision. 

You tried to pull her to the stables, a pen, anywhere where she couldn't escape. The white mare charged at you and you barely dodged her hooves as you fell to the ground. Despite this, you held on. Wrapped the rope tighter around yourself, even. This was both a mistake and the only way you managed to keep her from running out of your grasp. 

She dragged you along and you were sure she'd break your spine along with every other bone you would soon find to be fractured or snapped in two. What finally trapped her was when she galloped past a pen. In a desperate attempt to either stop her or at least free yourself, you threw yourself onto the fence and let the rope unwind from your bruised and bleeding arms. It wasn't part of your original plan, but you took the opportunity to tie it around one of the fence posts. The fence leaned forward with both her pull and your weight, but she stopped covering ground. You unwrapped the rest of the rope and hastily tied it over every inch of fence you could, trying desperately to make use of your broken hands and arms. When you untied the last bit from your torso, you really felt the damage. This was the worst idea of your young life, but you got her. She was to small, too weak to pull the entire fence with her.

The owner, his wife and a stable boy came running. The stable boy went to the horse, but the other two kneeled at your side.

"I've never seen a girl get dragged that far and still tie a knot that well," The owner laughed. You didn't find it as amusing in your current state. "Might hafta promote you from stable girl to new whisperer." He laughed and his wife smacked his arm. 

"With a-all due... r-respect, sir. Why th-he fuck did you... oo-pen the damn door?" It took a lot of effort to speak, but you felt it necessary to give him a little piece of your mind. His wife gave him a little annoyed look and then looked back to you.

"Are you hurt, ____?" She meant well, but the answer was obvious. You tried to nod, but all that came out was a groan and a fit of painful coughing. One flaw of yours, you were too stubborn to even black out in this pain. The whole way to the ranch medic, you felt every shift agitate another injury. Just when you thought it was over, he told the company it was better to take you to the actual hospital. What had you to look forward to? Either a bumpy car ride, or the wait for an ambulance. Before you had any say, you were strapped in the back of their car. The owner drove like a maniac.

"Sir... I'm not go-oing to die if you... go the spee-d limit. In fact-" You wanted to continue, but another wave of coughs sprinkled with just the tiniest beads of blood interrupted you. He looked back at you with wide, worried eyes and stepped on the gas. You decided not to speak the rest of the way. By some insane stroke of luck, there were no cops along the way. The severity of your injuries helped you avoid sitting in the waiting room, but that was the only real perk of nearly being murdered by a horse.

The doctors put you under, and when you woke up, there was only one person in the room with you. He looked bored out of his mind and didn't even notice you were awake at first. You recognized him as one of the other stable boys. Ross? That sounded right.

"Let me guess," You rasped. "I'm fired." His head shot up and you saw the wheels turning in his head as he stuttered.

"Uh, no, actually. They just wanted someone to stay here just in case you woke up. There's a race or something going on. I don't usually watch anyways. Besides, Mark will make sure to talk our ears off if he won." The stable boy laughed and looked up at the blank television mounted to the ceiling. "Of course, if you wanna, we can still watch." 

"Nah, like you said, we'll hear about it later." There were multiple IVs dripping clear substances into your veins. "What'do they got me on?" You didn't know Ross too well, so small talk didn't come easy.

"The good stuff," He answered bluntly." You decided this was a good enough answer for you.

"How... Are..." You took a second to choose your wording. "I can't pay for 'the good stuff.'" That sort of went without saying, but Ross new what you were getting at.

"Arin and Suzy are paying the bills, but I can't promise they won't ask you to pay them back. They're generous, but that mare really did a number on you."

"I thought it was worth it at the time. What are we even going to do with that mare? Who's going to break her? I doubt she'll take to any stallions we have." The more you thought about it, the stupider you felt for putting your life at risk just to catch an old white mare.

"Why do you say that? We have more stallions than anyone knows what to do with. She's bound to have an eye for one of them." Ross was looking at you strangely, as if you had just told him trees could sing. 

"I don't know why, but I just know she's too wild. And it ain't because I was the one who nearly died trying to get her. We can't break her without a whisperer, and until she's tamed she won't show no interest in our affairs or our stallions." You saw it in her. You couldn't explain it, but you knew.

"You seemed to have things under control until Arin opened that door. We all saw. We all wanted to be the one to catch her, but you were ready while the rest of us were still lacing up our boots." You hadn't even noticed the others get up. Not even Kevin, who was just across the mow. 

"I didn't even think to put on my boots." You really didn't. Eagerness always distracted you.

"Yeah, you were out there in your sleepwear and everything. Surprised the skin didn't get torn right off your back. Especially with that rope around you. Never seen anyone try to catch a horse that way," Ross laughed. Now that you thought about it, your back did burn a little. "I saw you do everything just like our old whisperer. All except for tying the rope around yourself. Even he wouldn't put himself in that much danger. Not even for a prize mare like that."

"I just didn't wanna lose'er." That's all that was running through your mind that night. You needed that horse.

"Well, you got her, but she nearly pulled you in four different parts. I saw you just for a second before they rushed you off. Pretty sure one of your ribs was out, but I guess it was pretty dark out." You vaguely remembered him go to try and calm the horse down. You lifted up the light cloth shirt you had on to check. Sure enough, there was one set of stitches over your ribs on your left side. There was also another, surgical incision just under your ribs.

"What's that one," You asked, pointing at the straight line of a scar. Ross turned his head slightly and cringed.

"I think they had to fix up a lung or something," He answered, still casually despite his obvious discomfort. 

"How long have I been under?" You felt pretty good considering all this. 

"Couple weeks, maybe. We've all been taking shifts. My wife even came in at some point. You've actually woken up several times, but I guess all that medicine they've been pumping into you made you forget." When you really thought hard, you did remember fuzzy images of the same room with different people, a different feel. 

"Was Jack from the farm here?" You remembered his face, but weren't sure if it matched the setting.

"Yeah," Ross answered. "Him and Mark came to visit at some point." It was a weird feeling knowing all these people came to see you when you barely knew them. "Why do you seem so surprised? It's not like you were on death's door or anything, but it was still pretty serious." 

"Pretty serious" seemed a little extreme, but you were stuck in a wheel chair for what was far too long in your opinion. The worst par part was you barely had any function of your hands. Right arm broken with fingers spared and left arm shattered with three fingers broken. You had just enough preserved to carry out simple tasks. You were told many times you were lucky your spine wasn't broken by the rope. Your skull was fractured and you had minor internal bleeding, but as the doctors put it "your youth has kept you resilient." They really wanted to hammer in the fact that if you were about five years older you'd probably be crippled for life. But even they were surprised at how quickly you were healing. It was that stubbornness, you knew it. You couldn't stand staying in bed. Physical therapy was a bore. You just wanted to get it over with. Not just because you wanted to get back out into the world, but because the price of it all just kept climbing. 

Once you were out of the hospital, you had a talk with Arin. As wealthy as he was, you couldn't blame him for wanting his money back. Once you could work, you'd be working for free. It wasn't that bad, considering you lived in their stable for free, but you'd be giving up meals and could no long use the shower rooms on the ranch. It sounded harsh, but it was nothing in exchange for your medical expenses. You made it your top priority to pay them back as soon as possible. 

"I don't think it's fair," Kevin told you one day. "He knows you have no money. I'm surprised Suzy hasn't said anything about it." You ignored him. Your movement was still very stiff and stunted, but you worked your hardest. The sooner you payed off your debt, the better. 

Every day you checked in on the mare. She never seemed to run out of energy. You could've been convinced she was only a filly by the amount of energy she had. Not to mention her size. You begged every possible person there was to beg for you to break her. The most common answer was always something along the lines of, "You can barely climb the stairs. How are you going to break a wild horse?" To which you had no answer. 

Another session began early one morning. All the stable boys got together to drag the white mare to one of the open pens. You hadn't been involved in most of these sessions for obvious reasons. Today, though, you called down to the group from your small living space in the mow. 

"Take her to the track," You suggested. You ordered, really. There were protests, but they did end up dragging the bucking, screaming horse to the track. There was a tall enough fence around it that she couldn't escape. When the three had finally gotten her through the gate, it seemed everyone working that day had stopped what they were doing to see what you had in mind. Ross, Kevin and Barry ran and climbed the fence as soon as they let her loose. Jon the medic and Brian the groundskeeper had even come to watch. Mark, being the jockey, excited ran over to see if he was needed. 

"Do you wanna try first?" You were looking at Mark who was watching the mare with a horrified look on his face. 

"Well," He glanced left and right. "Who else is gonna do it..." Who else in deed. 

"Don't let him go in alone," You ordered. Barry was the only one who went with him. The mare was surprisingly calm as Mark pulled himself onto her saddle. 

"How long have the halter and saddle been on her," You asked Kevin.

"A week or so. We got them on her, but couldn't get them off." He sounded guilty. 

Mark was bucked off after mere seconds. He scrambled away and Barry opened the fence for him to run out while the mare rampaged. 

"Who does she trust the most?" You asked everyone. They all looked to one another. 

"The only one she was ever calm around was you that first night," Brian admitted.

"Then I'll get the halter and saddle off of her. She has to hate them by now." Before anyone could object, you walked through the gate. She recognized you. Oh boy she recognized you. 

"You can't do it," Ross so politely encouraged. 

"Remember me," You cooed. "Of course you do." You spoke this as if it were a lullaby. You were almost certain she could understand you. She was moving back and forth and threw her head up in agitation every few seconds, but she was definitely calmer than before. "I tied you up, but you sure did get me back." You chuckled a little and she slowed her movements. Up close you could see how filthy she was. No one had been able to groom her. She should have been let go. "Don't worry, though. I'm not angry. Not one bit." You stuck out a hand at the risk of being bitten. She gingerly sniffed you, and you knew she was no more angry at you than you were at her. "You've been looking for me, haven't you." Everyone else was afraid. You weren't. "You don't scare me, but I respect you." You pet her mane. You didn't look back, but you could feel jaws drop. Carefully, you removed the white mare's worn, filthy halter. You felt her relief. The second you removed her saddle, she took off.

You watched, startled and amazed at her speed and beauty. She made three laps without slowing before getting frustrated and slowing to a stop a little ways away from you. 

"I know, girl. It doesn't really go anywhere, does it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My keyboard is being stubborn lately, so please bare with me if there are any errors. I try to proofread as best I can, but my laggy internet and mediocre laptop make it a little frustrating.

You groomed her, fed her, took her out to the track to exercise. The problem was, she never let you ride her. Any time she even saw a saddle she went berserk. Arin was very excited to hear of his new "prize mare", but she was anything but tame. You weren't in a hurry to break her until Arin brought to your attention the amount of money she could make. More than enough to pay off your debt. Since you were the only one she trusted, the idea of making you exclusively her jockey was tossed around, but never seriously discussed.

Time was a big issue when it came to working with her. You had to get a second job, this one during night shifts, to pay for food and other such necessities. And even some of those earnings were payed to Arin. 

Every attempt at breaking her just seemed to get worse. You had been warned to take it easy as to not re-injure yourself, but that wasn't really an option at this point. It wasn't until you were bucked off with particular vigor that you were reminded of your own fragility. You landed oddly on your wrist and immediately knew something was wrong. Your muffled cries got the attention of one of the stable boys.

"I knew you'd get hurt again," Barry mumbled as he jogged over. The mare grew more anxious as he got closer. "That horse is a lost cause."

"No! Just let me try again." You tried to push yourself up off the ground, but the pain in your wrist caused you to shout again. You quickly covered your mouth. Arin couldn't know you were hurt again. You couldn't owe him any more. "Can I trust the medic not to tell Arin?"

"Probably not," Barry answers as he helped you off the ground. "But you need to go anyways."

"No, I'll bind it myself." You lightly tugged at the mare's lead with your good hand and hastily made your way back to the stables, leaving Barry behind. She seemed disappointed when you shut her away, but you had to take care of your broken wrist before you injured it any further. The door to the medic's office creaked even louder than the owner's house. So much for sneaking in. He peered through the doorway in the back of the room and immediately adopted a look of distress when he saw it was you who was waiting. 

"Is everything alright?" Any number of things could have been wrong with you. 

"Yeah, um, can I buy some of that, uh, wrapping stuff?" Maybe you could get in and out pain free if you didn't report your injury. 

"The gauze?" He obviously wasn't going to let you off that easy. "Well, I don't usually sell my medical supplies. What do you need it for?"

"I need it for a really big scrape. On-on my knee." You did have a scrape, but not one that really needed to be bandaged up. You started to roll up your pant legs despite the shooting pain in your wrist every time you moved it. "See," You pointed to the scrape. The fact that it was in need of being cleaned helped your case. The redness and new bruise forming on your arm did not.

"It doesn't look too bad, but you might want to rinse it out. What happened to your arm?" He obviously saw through your lie.

"I just fell on it. It's all good." He could see it was injured, but he didn't need to know how bad it was. 

"Just let me check it out." You held your arm out to him. The second he touched it you bit your lip and cringed. He nodded knowingly and let go. "I'll get a splint." He went into the back room and sure enough came back with a splint and some gauze. "You know, you don't have to act tough around us. Last week Ross came in with a stubbed toe and swore it was broken. I'm pretty sure you already gained everyone's respect the second you tied that rope around yourself just to catch a wild horse." You'd rather have him think you were just showing off than sacrificing your own health to spare expenses. 

"Thank you, sir. I'll be more careful next time." You turned to leave, but he kept talking.

"You should get some rest, ____. You look exhausted. And I haven't been seeing you at meal time. Is everything alright?" You had assumed everyone knew. 

"I don't get free meals anymore. At least not 'till I pay off my debt," You explained, turning back around. 

"Are you eating enough despite this? I realize you suffered recent trauma, but I almost never see you in my office. You may not be getting enough calcium." Antagonizing your boss in front of one of his close friends and colleagues wasn't on your agenda, but you definitely were not eating enough. 

"It'll all be fine once I break this horse," You assured. Before he could say anything else, you walked out the door and back to the stables. It would all be fine when you could finally break that mare, but were you really qualified to complete such a task?

Climbing up the ladder to your spot in the mow was difficult, but you did eventually make it. The white mare was in the stall closest to you. She knew something was up. You saw the way she moved uneasily. As you shrugged on your coat and filled your pockets with change and snacks, she whinnied. 

"Yeah, I know, but I won't be gone long." You couldn't promise anything, and prayed she couldn't understand you. If you lied to her, she'd never let you hear the end of it. On the way back down, you decided to jump rather than struggle. The shock of your landing passed through your legs and you cursed yourself for yet again putting yourself at risk. The last thing you needed was to re-break your legs. 

The only one who saw you leave was Barry, who didn't say anything until you reached the very edge of the property. 

"You're not, like, quitting are you?" You wanted to say he was just joking around, but his smile was paired with a worried tone.

"Nah, just running a quick errand." You were fooling no one, but you didn't need to. No one was going to stop you from doing this.

You asked around town. Everyone knew what you were asking, but few knew the answer. Even when the sun started to set and your legs were aching as if your bones had been mended with glue that just wasn't strong enough to hold the pieces together, you persisted. "To the city," One would say. The next would disagree and suggest a houseboat in a different country. You swore you heard every possible answer as to were the whisperer went. You decided to trust the fisherman who told you with confidence that he saw the man out by the lake not a day ago. That seemed a bit more realistic than the tales the rest of the town loved to weave. If you had asked about your own incident, you would have heard a few less than favorable rumors were being spread about your situation. 

When the sun had fully set and the wind curved off the lake and through the trees you realized the stables were a lot warmer than you realized. The cool air seemed to pass right through your jacket and chill your skin. Everything seemed so much colder than you remembered. You took a bite of a candy bar you brought with you. Despite the cold, it had still melted a bit in your pocket. Every part of you urged you to finish it, but you stopped after two medium bites. The more ground you covered, the clumsier your footing became. You were exhausted, hungry, could and losing hope. You felt you were too far to turn back, but you seemed to be making no progress. Well, almost no progress. You had smelled a fire, but must not have moved in the right direction towards it. 

Boy, were you tired. When was the last time you got a full nights sleep? How hard could you push yourself before your body gave out? Pretty hard. Still, your current state was borderline decrepit. That, though, was why you had to find him. You had to find the whisperer to help you with the white mare. She could run faster than any stallion on the ranch, but it was no good as long as she was still wild. You needed him. As much as you hated to admit it, you needed the help of the whisperer. Then you could make back the money. You could repay your debt and recover from your sorry state. 

"Please," You whispered, half asleep and aching in every part of your body. "Please be here. I can't keep this up." Despite your pleads into the empty woods, no one came. The though of curling up under a tree and sleeping until sunrise crossed your mind. It was a bad idea, though. Freezing to death was only one of the many possibilities you considered, most of them much more grizzly. Your heart felt as if it was giving every last effort just to keep you alive at this point, and you could have sworn it stopped all together when you heard leaves rustling off to your right. You turned to face whatever approached you.

It took your brain a little longer than it should have to realize you had finally found him. He looked confused and worried. When had gotten so close? He wasn't more than ten yards away and carrying an electric lantern. How far gone were you exactly?

"Are you...?" He wore a look of confusion and worry on his face. "Wait, I know you. You worked in the stables at the old ranch." His expression went hard and you could no longer read it. Or were you just too tired. You tried to speak, but all that came out was mumbling. "Have you been searching for me?"

"I've been searching... all day." Your words were slurred with sleepiness. No matter how he felt about you being here, he could tell you needed rest. Obviously, there was no point in trying to get information from you when you were practically dead on your feet.

"It's a long way from town, and even further from the ranch." This was just a fact. "You can stay the night, but in the morning I either want answers or I want you headed back home." This seemed harsh, but he said it in a very easygoing tone. As if he was bargaining with a child. He led you to his cabin and you nearly fell asleep as you walked. Before he could set up any sort of sleeping arrangement for you, you half-collapsed to the floor. When you tried to catch yourself with both hands, you drew your left arm back and held in the yelp and tears that came with your carelessness. It didn't take long for you to get over it and completely pass out on the wooden floor. The last thing you heard was a sigh, but you were already too gone to think much of it.

There was no smell of breakfast cooking or busywork to wake you up. No alarm nor wake-up call that pulled you from your slumber at the hour of ten the next morning. Early considering, but late for an average day. The whisperer was not waiting for you with questions, comments or any such concerns. He wasn't even waiting for you. You woke up and he was minding his business. You considered just leaving without a word, but that would have made this all pointless. It was extremely hard to push yourself off the floor and outside to where he sat, reading from something you could care less about. You felt your legs threaten to fail you. Out of overuse, out of damage, out of lack of energy. 

"I'm not, like, annoyed at you or anything," He said before you could even close the door all the way. "It was just really late, and I wasn't expecting anyone from the ranch. Well, I wasn't expecting anyone at all, really." He seemed almost embarrassed. As if he hadn't potentially saved your life. 

"I didn't think it would take so long to find you," You admitted. You didn't want to sit next to him, but you felt like your body would collapse in on itself if you kept standing. "I need your help."

"With what?" He seemed to grow even more uneasy. 

"I need you to help me break one hell of a horse." You had considered telling the whole story, but just weren't in the mood to explain that much after just waking up.

"I'm not going back to that ranch." You never really found out why he left, but there must have been some good reason for him to retreat this far back in the woods. 

"Please, sir, I truly need your help. I don't know what I'll do if I have to go back empty handed." Begging made you feel like you were going to be sick. He must have known because his expression softened a bit more.

"Why is this so important?" A valid question. "And please don't call me 'sir'. You can call me Dan or Danny." 

"Okay, Dan." A little edge returned to your voice that you did not intend to be there, and it stuck. "I need to break her because she's the fasted horse I've ever saw in a long while and I need to race'er to pay back my debt to the ranch owner."

"What debt? What did you do?" He didn't seem the least bit put off by your tone. 

"He payed for my hospital bills." You weren't in any hurry to tell this man that you nearly died trying to catch a horse.

"Wait, I think I heard something about this. You were the stable worker that got rushed to the hospital a few months back." He pointed a finger at you as he made the connection. "I've heard quite a few rumors about what happened. The shopkeeper's sister is convinced you were beaten by one of the other stable boys for sleeping with more than one of them." This wasn't what you wanted to hear. "And his wife argues with her that you were standing in the road, trying to get hit. He, on the other hand, always buts in with, 'I told you, she was just drunk and fell from the hayloft. All those stable workers are drunks.' But they argue that a fall from that height was't bad enough to cause so much trauma." The excited way he was relaying all this gossip really got your goat. "So tell me, what really happened?"

"None of that bullshit, I can tell you that." The true story seemed embarrassing before, but it was far more respectable than any of the rumors you had just heard. "I just got a little beat up when I was trying to catch this horse I've been telling you about."

"'A little beat up' seems like an understatement from what I've heard." He had a smug smile on his face, but was still ready to listen. 

"Okay, so it was really bad because I made some stupid moves. You don't understand, though. This mare. I had to get this mare." He still had that smug smile on his face.

"Must be some horse." He giggled a little. 

"That's what I've been saying," You nearly yelled. It came out as more of a restrained exclamation, though. "Just come help me and then you never have to even think about me or the ranch or another race ever again." 

"Okay." You were surprised he agreed so easily now. "But no one else can know I'm coming back unless it's absolutely necessary, I'll only work at night and I get your free meals the whole time I'm there." He counted these things off on his fingers in a remarkably casual way.

"I don't get meals anymore." You didn't expect this detail to be a deal breaker. At least you hoped it wasn't.

"Oh geez, I was just kidding about that part." He looked almost guilty for bringing it up. "I'll bring my own money for food."

"Wait, are you going to be staying in the stable or something? I mean, I guess I didn't expect you to make the trip every night, but I do sleep in the same stable as Kevin." 

"Oh yeah. I forgot the stable worker had to sleep in the haylofts. Doesn't it get chilly, smelly and all around uncomfortable up there?" He still held his joking tone, but his questions where legitimate. 

"It's cozier than you'd think," You answered truthfully. Something else crossed your mind. If he was working with you and the mare at night, you couldn't work your other jobs. You decided to burn that bridge when you got to it. You still had enough money saved up to buy food, and bathing in the lake wasn't too bad.

"If we leave now, you can get back to the ranch before the work day's over and I can just hang around town until sundown." So that's exactly what you did. You got back and didn't face any punishment for skipping a little work. Your rules were a bit more lenient considering you started working again far before the doctors recommended. It wasn't easy going through the day with your newly broken wrist, but you got by. You saw Arin once that day.

"Don't push yourself too hard," He said upon meeting. "Honesty, there's no hurry to pay me back." That was easy for him to say from where he stood. He was still eating a full three meals every day. 

"I'm just trying to make up for leaving early yesterday. And, well, coming in late today." This wasn't a lie.

"It's no big deal. Just tell me next time. You've always been a hard worker, especially considering all that's happened. I can live with you taking a few days off now and then." Was he just stating a fact or encouraging you to take time off? You couldn't tell, but whatever he was doing didn't sway your standpoint. 

"As long as I live on your property, I intend give my all every day." You didn't want this conversation to last much longer. 

"Just promise me that when you feel you've reached your limit, you'll take a break. I know that to you, you're still fine, but most people would be burnt out by now. I've realized by now that you won't listen to me, but please listen to yourself." You should have been relieved when he walked away, but the feeling of the conversation lingered.

You went back to the medic afterwards and asked for a proper cast. Not everything was in your control, but you still had the power to take care of some of your problems. Come sunfall, the plan to pay off your debt would take a big step forward. 

You waited at the edge of the property for Dan. You wanted to think he was late, but there really was no set time. Arin, Suzy, Mark and Jon had left for a race somewhere far enough away that they had to drive overnight. They'd be staying for at least a week. This happened quite often. While Jon was gone, everyone had to be especially careful not to injure themselves. Something that really shouldn't have been a big issue, but it was. When Dan casually strolled up to you, he asked, 

"Who all is here right now?" He must have heard of the race. 

"Just stable boys and the groundskeeper." He nodded and made a big deal of taking his first step onto the property. 

"What a fuss the townsfolk are gonna make about all of this. You wouldn't believe how many people asked me something along the lines of, 'Did you come back for that girl who got beaten?' We're seen together for not ten minutes today and everyone is already brewing tales of heroism. Back in the city, no one really gave a damn. Of course, no one really knew each other." You were belonging to notice Dan really liked to talk. And it never felt like he was talking to you. It felt like he was talking to himself, or some third party only he could see.

"When you were alone, did you ramble on like this to yourself? I worked with you for a reasonable 'mount of time, and I'm just now realizing just how much you actually talk." When you really thought about it, he did like to chat back then as well. Only back then, it was more conversational. He really had changed since the last time you saw him. He was more distant, more serious. Honestly, you weren't a fan.

"And how much you don't," He countered. "All that time we worked together and you barely even looked at me. At anyone, really." The tables had been expertly turned on you. You decided you preferred it when he just prattled on. You couldn't think of anything to counter his judgement, so the two of you walked in silence until he broke it. "Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just kind of off-putting when I think about all of that. You know, you've changed a lot."

"So have you." Though, you saw the old him shine through the cracks in moments like this. "I think you've gone a little crazy." He laughed and you felt warm. You missed that laugh. Too bad it was replaced with a sigh and a frown after only a moment.

"You haven't changed much, though. Still won't look me in the eye. Only difference is it used to be shyness. Now it feels like distance." You knew he was looking at you, but, just as he said, you couldn't look at him. 

"I think we're both too distant." You saw the stables and your legs began to ache again. "You know, they'll be gone for a week. I think I need to lay down. Can we start tomorrow?" You suddenly felt extremely heavy. 

"Are you okay, ____?" The answer was no, but you nodded. You barely noticed the rest of the walk and the clumsy climb up to your cot. The vague image of Kevin and Dan exchanging words played in your head as if it were a distant memory and not happening right in front of you. Falling asleep should have been easy, but you just stayed somewhere in-between sleep and consciousness as you listened to the two men drone on about something you weren't aware enough to process. Even when a hand was set gently on your forehead, you didn't move. Eventually, you did drift off into sleep. 

Something that you didn't know would cause both your roommates to sit awake with worry for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My only regret is that I put of writing this for so long.

You didn’t quite dream, but you remembered.

You seemed to remember a time when everything felt like it was in bloom. Everything except for you. You were young, maybe a bit angsty. The thought of paperwork and stuffy meeting naturally filled you with dread. You had no direction, no calling. You left the place you came from. You had some sort of accent no one in this new place seemed to have. You never noticed how unintelligent it made you sound until you heard your boss slow down as he spoke to you. This made you angry, you left. You were young. 

No one was really looking to hire someone like you. You had no real skills, you were too scraggly for an uppity job and was never too good at talking to customers. The jobs you worked were mind-numbing. You found yourself washing quite a few dishes and moving your fair share of boxes into warehouses nicer than the places you stayed. It didn’t take long to grow restless. Once again, you left. 

Things got bad. You lived in small shelters most stray dogs wouldn’t think to inhabit, until suddenly there they were. Husband and wife, madly in love, only slightly older than you were. It was embarrassing, really. They were young and doing just fine. Somehow you were suddenly set up in a stable full of horses and barn cats that were cleaner than you. Somehow it was as if everyone already knew you, and wanted you around. That was the hard part for you, to feel wanted. The rest came naturally.

Working in the stables was oddly perfect for you. It was just exciting enough to keep you from wandering again. The other stable boys just treated you like you had always been part of the ranch. The groundskeeper liked to mess with you, but it was all in good spirit. The doctor saw an awful lot of you, and the other stable boys for that matter. The jockey never acted like he was above any of you. Everyone ate at the same dinner table and shared the same booze. You were never much of a people person, but it was hard not to form bonds when everyone was so close.

Mark even told you once of his secret love affair with the farmer across town. Jack was his name, you only met him a few times but he seemed nice enough. Though Mark told you to keep it on the down low, you soon found out he had told almost everyone on the ranch in “secret” at least once on different drunken occasions. 

The one person you never seemed to click with much at that time was the horse whisperer. The only time you spent any casual time with him was at dinner, with everyone else around and loud. He was good friends with everyone else, very personable. Maybe that was why you felt slightly intimidated by him. Well, maybe it was that slight air of mystery that followed him. He always looked at you like he knew something you didn’t. It drove you crazy.

The only time you talked with him one-on-one was when you were talking care of the animals. You both had some knack for calming down the rowdy horses. He was of course better, being the whisperer and all. That didn’t stop him from asking you for help when a horse was sick, injured or just acting up. The time you spent couldn’t quite be classified as “bonding” for it was more business than anything else. Now and then, one of you would break the barrier and say something ranging anywhere from the state of the weather to some childhood story that just happened to come to mind. One day, he surprised you.

“Arin felt bad for you at first.” Dan didn’t look up from the horse whose infected wound he was examining when he spoke.

“I figured. I mean, you saw me.” You were trying to mask your accent at the time, and your voice sounded awkward.

“You were dying,” The false-professionalism he had been speaking with faltered only slightly as he spoke the last word. “I would have taken you in, too.”

“What’s ‘yer point?” You silently swore at your slip-up. Dan noticed, but pretended not to for your sake.

“He’s a good man. He doesn’t know how to treat a horse, though. Especially not sick ones. I don’t agree with the strain he puts on the animals. The new ones in particular.” Nothing else was said between you two for a week after that. You thought you understood what he was saying back then.

…

“It’s not his fault, you know.” You were still in bed, not looking at Dan as you argued. “This is all my choice.” Dan just moved to the other side of the cot to speak to you face-to-face.

“You’re even worse than the first night I met you. At least then all your bones were intact.” He sounded angry, though you knew it was concern.

“How is that Arin’s fault?” Dan just didn’t understand. How could he? He’d been living in the woods while it had all happened.

“He knows you well enough to anticipate your stubbornness. He’s letting you destroy yourself. The only good thing that’s come from his neglect is that you further risked your life to find me. At this rate you’ll be dead in a month if no one intervenes.” Now there was anger.

“What, so you’re the only one who can take care of me? I’m doomed without your wise guiding hand?” You sat up to face him. It hurt, but you tried to hide your grimace. That would only strengthen Dan’s argument. 

“Apparently no one else is going to,” He almost yelled. “You care more about paying back Arin than you do about your own life. This ranch isn’t the whole world.”

“Neither am I,” You countered.

“Maybe you are.” Where you? Something wanted to come back to you. Some distant memory, but it burned up with the heat of your skin. “You know why I left, right?” You didn’t know. You actually hadn’t thought much of it.

“I don’t recall,” You admitted with a bit of unintended rasp to your voice. Dan’s shoulders bounced slightly as if he was laughing, but no sound came out.

“I thought you understood.” Dan put one hand to his face and lowered his head, running his fingers through his hair with a sad smile. “Here I am, leaving you all behind, expecting you to know why without saying a word outside a little riddle I just expected you to decode. I must look like a huge jerk. I left my workload on you and ran away. I guess Arin’s not the only one hurting the ranch with good intentions.” None of this made you understand any more than you already did, but you didn’t interrupt. He must have realized he hadn’t actually explained anything. “It wasn’t just one thing that made me leave. It was the health of the horses, the living conditions, the pay and I guess reckless endangerment was another thing that hadn’t bothered me until I grew a little older. I think the guilt was the final straw.”

“What do you mean?” There had been a pause like he expected you to finally understand. After you spoke he was the one who looked confused.

“You don’t remember.” This was a statement, a fact. You didn’t, apparently. “I guess that’s why you don’t know why I left.” He said this in a lighthearted, possibly relieved tone, but something in his expression turned grim after he thought about it for a moment. “What do you remember? About the time before I left, I mean.” Nothing. You hadn’t thought much about that time period until recently. You tried to make the clouds clear. They did. Slightly.

“I remember it was better than now, but worse than usual. I think.” Dan nodded with slight relief. You kept thinking. “There was a party of sorts. Not here, though. It was at a pub.”

“That happened before things got bad. Please remember, ____. This is… It’s just really important.” Dan sounded so desperate all of a sudden. I made you feel almost guilty for not remembering.

“There was a fight.” He nodded. “We left.” He nodded again looking a little uneasy. “Just us.”

“What about after that night,” He cut in with slight urgency. You just kept recalling that one night. What you did remember became remarkably clear. 

“We left. You showed me where you stayed on the ranch. It was in the house and a lot nicer than where any other workers stayed.” You could feel the surprise from when he first produced the keys.

“But what about after all that. A day or two later.” He was desperate to get you to move on. 

“We were drunk and I… you… we…” He saw the recollection in your eyes. You laid back down and put a hand over your red tinted face. “No wonder the shopkeepers- whatever thinks I sleep with all the stable boys.” You let out a little groan and turned away from Dan.

“I had forgotten about that part, too. Until yesterday, actually. I guess I blocked it out.” He sounded embarrassed, and that made you feel even worse.

“Oh god, you regret it. I slept with you and now you regret it.” Now that you wanted to stop remembering, you couldn’t. Details grew more intense. 

“I don’t- I mean- you’re not- I think it was… okay, good. Maybe. If you think- I’m not saying… Okay, what happened after that night?” You mostly ignored what he said until he suggested moving on. That sounded good.

“Okay, so after that.” You paused to think. “That’s when things got bad.” You remembered working twice as hard and eating less. Group meals were quiet. “Wait,” It was coming back. “Things got bad just for me.”

Arin kept loading more and more onto you. No one looked you in the eye. You knew why at the time.

“Tell me, ____,” Dan broke in. He sounded desperate again. “Why did you fall? I never found out, ____. You never told me.”

“I don’t-” Remember, yes you did.  
“Let’s just get out of here already.” You smelled strongly of alcohol. You often did these days. Work was taking it’s toll.

“Do you mean out of the bar or out of here,” Dan gestured to everything as he said the last word. He sounded worn out and annoyed. He was sober. Just your babysitter while you drowned out your problems.

“We can run away. I’ve done it before. Run away together and start our new lives.” Even then you knew it was a stupid idea, but you couldn’t stop yourself.

“First, let’s leave the bar.” Dan was right to suggest this. You were a few drinks away from making a scene. You slumped down in the passenger seat of his car as he strapped himself in and then buckled your seatbelt. You usually didn’t travel by car because everything in town was in walking distance, but you weren’t opposed to a little joyride.

“We could do it again, Danny. Rent a hotel room so we don’t have to go back to that awful ranch. I want you, baby.” You leaned, or maybe slumped towards him and put a hand a little too high up on his leg.

“You’re drunk, ____. I’m not going to take advantage of a drunk girl whose life I already ruined.” He sounded annoyed, but really was looking out for you. You would have been thankful three drinks ago.

“You can make it all better, Danny. I know you know how.” You sat back in your seat and started unbuttoning your shirt. It was hard with the seatbelt in the way. He glanced over occasionally and you tried to keep eye contact. 

“No, ____. We’re going somewhere to stay the night, but nothing’s going to happen. We’re just avoiding the ranch and nothing else.” He sounded more tired than annoyed. If you were in your right mind, the look he gave you would have broken your heart. “I can’t keep this up. I can’t let you keep doing this to yourself. I need to fix this,”

“Then run away with me, darling. We won’t have to worry about a thing.” You managed to undo every button, but you were slouched back in the seat and half asleep.

“I barely know you, and you don’t know me. We made one, two mistakes together and it wrecked everything. Making another mistake isn’t going to fix anything.” If it was possible, Danny sounded even more tired.

You both slept in the car after Dan made sure you got some water in you. When you went to sleep it was sunset, you woke up in the dead of night to the sound of the engine starting.   
“I’m going back to the ranch.” Danny had seen you wake up. 

“No,” You protested with a lingering feeling of intoxication. 

“This is stupid, ____. We’re adults. We can’t just avoid our problems like this.” He really didn’t know you. You unbuckled your seatbelt and stumbled out of the car on sore wobbly legs. You heard Dan yell, but just kept walking in the direction the car was headed before you stopped. Away. Dan got out and chased you, which prompted you to run. All you could register was swearing and a car horn as a vehicle swerved out of the way to avoid hitting you. Danny caught up to you and pulled you out of the road to prevent another potential accident.

“It’s time to go home.” You didn’t protest this time.

The drive felt like it took an eternity, but still not long enough.

“I’m the source of all this madness. You’re just a victim.” That was all Dan left you with before disappearing into the dark house. You went the opposite direction into the stable where Kevin slept like a rock. You climbed up the ladder to the mow where your little cot sat with a torn up blanket. This, you realised, was part of the madness. Arin had been making your life hell since word got out you and Dan slept together, but in subtle ways he did so. He was hurt and jealous, and you felt guilty for causing you boss such grief. The one who had rescued you and had taken you in. You should have been angry at him, but you were ashamed. As you teetered on the edge of the mow, you decided you wouldn’t care if you fell. So you did.

“I wanted to fall.” There was no emotion in your voice as you told Dan the truth. “What happened then?” You were done remembering.

“You were there all night.”

“Okay.”

“Unconscious.”

“I figured

“Arin found you, and rushed you to the hospital.”

“Why was Arin in the stable so early?”

“I had a little talk with him that night.”

“Then what?”

“You never saw me again and everyone chose not to talk about it.” Dan was trying to put on a joking tone. You appreciated it.

“Let’s go see that mare.” Your morning was off to a bad start. You just needed to get to work.

You slowly worked your way down the ladder as Dan waited below just in case you fell. You didn’t see anyone else on your way to the mare’s pen. When the door was open, Danny’s jaw dropped. He looked from the horse to you.

“You captured her?” He seemed far more astonished than you expected.

“She put up a fight, as you know, but yeah,” You answered proudly. Dan watched you for almost a long enough time to be uncomfortable.

“It’s a shame you don’t see it.” He said wistfully as he looked back to the horse. You stepped back with confusion as the mare calmly stepped out of the pen towards you. She stared into your eyes and you suddenly felt insignificant and small, but also pure. Your bones no longer ached and your stomach felt full. “You caught a unicorn, ____.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems you've discovered my secret. I can't write about anything happy or anything not involving fantasy creatures. Drop me an ask on tumblr. Or not.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking this will be at least three parts. P.S. The best way to contact me is on tumblr @cantabileChaos


End file.
